Safety research - How should we train people for hazardous work?

If the work is hazardous, training should become increasingly engaging.

This research, titled “The Dread Factor: How Hazards and Safety Training Influence Learning and Performance”, was published in the Journal of Applied Psychology (2011, Vol. 96, No. 1, 46-70). Many different methods of training are available. These vary from distance learning and electronic learning (e-learning), to lecturing and engaging the worker. Engaging training means to show the person the work, and allow them to carry out the work themselves, in order to have the skills to carry out the task and be aware of the safety consequences of ignoring hazards. Whichever method is chosen, skills acquisition must take place that will enable the worker to carry out their tasks more productively and safely. This research investigated the extent to which the level of training engagement in safety programmes influenced safety performance.

The research showed that training that allowed for high levels of engagement when workers were exposed to hazards, was considerably more effective in promoting safety knowledge and safety performance than training where engagement was less. The higher the severity level of the hazard, the more important engaged training became. The highly engaging training resulted in a realisation of the dangers associated with the high severity hazards, and were able to relate to the possibility of an accident or event occurring.

The research highlights that safety managers need to carefully analyse the hazard level of the work and plan the training accordingly. More engaging training normally has higher costs. Therefore, the hazard profile that an organisation’s workers are exposed to, should determine the level of engagement during training.

The authors of this article were M. Burke, K. Smith-Crowe, R. Salvador, S. Chan-Serafin, A. Smith and S Sonesh. Please read the full article for a complete account of the research.
Source: http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/apl-96-1-46.pdf